James William Neilson (October 1, 1909December 9, 1979) was an American television director, known for his stage and film direction as well as his work with ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color''.

Directing

James W. Neilson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, son of Edward Doremus and Clifford Bryant (nee "Hall") Neilson, and moved with his family to New York City as a child. In January 1942, Neilson enlisted in the US Marines directly following the entry of the United States into World War II. He served two tours of combat duty in the South Pacific and attained the rank of master sergeant. He was active as a war photographer. Following the war, Neilson returned to the theatre and from 1948 to 1952 he directed numerous productions at the La Jolla Playhouse, many of which featured well-known Hollywood performers including Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Groucho Marx. His La Jolla Playhouse work and relationships helped him land an offer to direct for Columbia Pictures in 1952. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Neilson directed over 100 television episodes, including multiple episodes of dramatic series such as ''Adam-12'', ''Ironside (TV series), Ironside'', ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World'', ''Bonanza'', ''Batman (TV series), Batman'', ''Zorro (1957 TV series), Zorro'', ''The Rifleman'', ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', and others. Movies directed by Neilson include ''Doctor Syn#The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963), Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'', ''The Moon-Spinners'', ''Summer Magic (film), Summer Magic'', ''Gentle Giant (film), Gentle Giant'', ''Bon Voyage! (1962 film), Bon Voyage!'', ''The First Time (1969 film), The First Time'', ''Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows'', ,''Moon Pilot'' and ''The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin''. The Western genre features frequently in Neilson's work, most notably the film ''Night Passage (film), Night Passage'' (1957) starring James Stewart. Neilson's direction was nominated for a 11th Primetime Emmy Awards, 1959 primetime Emmy Award for ''General Electric Theater''. He died in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Other work

In addition to directing, Neilson's filmography includes credits for writing, on ''Wonderful World of Disney'' (1970), and for acting, on ''Perry Mason (1957 TV series), Perry Mason'' (1961). He is also credited with lighting design for numerous productions at the La Jolla Playhouse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, James 1909 births 1979 deaths American television directors Disney people People from Shreveport, Louisiana People from Flagstaff, Arizona American film directors